Archaeology & Paleontology

Statistics could help decode ancient scripts (New Scientist, Aug. 17)

London's Oldest "Boardwalk" Found? (National Geographic News, Aug. 17)

Ancient stone artwork discovered (BBC News, Aug. 17)

America's 'Lost Colony': A Story Whose Ending Remains to Be Written (VOA News, Aug. 16)

Climate Warming May Have Given Incas Helping Hand (Planet Ark/Reuters, Aug. 16)

Early toolmakers were 'engineers' (BBC News, Aug. 14)

Ancient Weapons Point to First Use of Fire for Tools? (National Geographic News, Aug. 13)

Cave Complex Allegedly Found Under Giza Pyramids (Discovery News, Aug. 13)

Environment

Agricultural Methods Of Early Civilizations May Have Altered Global Climate (ScienceDaily, Aug. 17)

Water reform is 'needed in Asia' (BBC News, Aug. 17)

As Arctic Ocean warms, megatonnes of methane bubble up (New Scientist, Aug. 17)

Vulnerable States Team up for Tougher Climate Pact (Planet Ark/Reuters, Aug. 16)

Pollution Reduces Rain Vital to Crops (LiveScience, Aug. 16)

Wobbling Earth Triggers Climate Change (Discovery News/ABC Science Online, Aug. 14)

Acid In The Oceans: A Growing Threat To Sea Life (NPR, Aug. 12)

Exploration & Adventure

Tarka L’Herpiniere and Katie-Jane Cooper to cross the Southern Patagonia Icecap (ThePoles.com, Aug. 17)

13-year old girl plans to sail around the world - with her schoolbooks, through pirate waters (TheOceans.net, Aug. 17)

Medicine & Health

Tests Begin on Drugs That May Slow Aging (N.Y. Times, Aug. 17) Site requires free registration

Can Chemotherapy Lead to Alzheimer’s? (N.Y. Times, Aug. 17) Site requires free registration

It's true: all the taken men are best [Study finds single women prefer "taken" men] (New Scientist, Aug. 17)

Social Snubs Can Hurt, Physically (LiveScience, Aug. 17)

Swine flu readiness urged as US students return to school (TerraDaily/AFP, Aug. 16)

Moderate drinking 'boosts bones' (BBC News, Aug. 16)

Malaria vaccine holds out eradication hope (New Scientist, Aug. 14)

Early Risers Are Mutants (ScienceNOW, Aug. 13)

Killing Cancer Stem Cells (Technology Review, Aug. 13)

Peoples & Culture

Tough times call for taller presidents (New Scientist, Aug. 18)

Want to know who your friends are? Ask your cellphone (New Scientist, Aug. 17)

Faith rites boost brains, even for atheists: book (Yahoo News/Reuters, Aug. 17)

Tribal effort to fix broken world hinges on condor (Yahoo News/AP, Aug. 16)

Facial expressions 'not global' (BBC News, Aug. 14)

Natural Disasters & Weather

Hurricane Bill on Atlantic Track Toward Bermuda (Planet Ark/Reuters, Aug. 18)

Listening to rocks helps researchers better understand earthquakes (PhysOrg, Aug. 17)

In Peru, recovery from quake lags (Christian Science Monitor, Aug. 16)

Firefighters make progress against Santa Cruz fire (Christian Science Monitor, Aug. 16)

The village washed away by mud [Hsiaolin, Taiwan] (BBC News, Aug. 14)

Global and U.S. Hazards/Climate Extremes (updated weekly on Wednesdays)

Earthweek: A Diary of the Planet [pdf] (updated late Fridays)

People & Places in the News

What Really Killed Mozart? Maybe Strep (N.Y. Times, Aug. 17) Site requires free registration

Clash Over Rebirth of Mt. St. Helens (N.Y. Times, Aug. 17) Site requires free registration

Irrigation reform needed in Asia (Nature News, Aug. 17)

Migingo Island Journal: Ripples of Dispute Surround Tiny Island in East Africa (N.Y. Times, Aug. 16) Site requires free registration

Cocaine on Money: Drug Found on 90% of U.S. Bills (National Geographic News, Aug. 16)

After Years of Decline, Cleveland Aims to Go Green (Planet Ark/Reuters, Aug. 16)

Prosperity promise of Bolivia's salt flats (BBC News, Aug. 15)

Hans Christian Orsted: Who He Was, and Why You Owe Him (National Geographic News, Aug. 14)

Plants & Animals

Cockroaches future-proofed against climate change (New Scientist, Aug. 18)

Bird brains prove to be very sexy (BBC News, Aug. 18)

Kenya May Lose All Its Lions in 20 Years (Planet Ark/Reuters, Aug. 18)

Monkeys booze because of genes (BBC News, Aug. 17)

Invasion of the 'island snatchers' [Invasive plants] (BBC News, Aug. 17)

Orphaned Gorillas Sent to Isolated Island (National Geographic News, Aug. 17)

Pandas could be extinct in 2-3 generations: report (Yahoo News/AFP, Aug. 17)

Killer Spices Can "Season" Pests to Death (National Geographic News, Aug. 16)

Imitation Promotes Social Bonding In Primates (ScienceDaily, Aug. 15)

New Sub "War" Range May Harm Rare Whales, Critics Say (National Geographic News, Aug. 14)

Ugly bats are built to bite (Nature News, Aug. 14)

Expedition aims to protect deep-sea coral reefs (Orlando Sentinel, Aug. 13)

Zombie Ants Controlled by Fungus (LiveScience, Aug. 12)

Science & Technology

Internet 'immune system' could block viruses (New Scientist, Aug. 18)

Science ponders 'zombie attack' (BBC News, Aug. 18)

Future trucks: Cleaning up the kings of the road [Green trucks] (New Scientist, Aug. 17)

To Avoid Bird Strikes, Just Tell The Birds To Move (NPR, Aug. 16)

Space

Inflatable Spacecraft Shield Works, Space Test Shows (Yahoo News/Space.com, Aug. 17)

Nasa assembles Ares test rocket (BBC News, Aug. 17)

Life's Building Block Found in Comet (Space.com, Aug. 17)

"Backward" Planet Has Density of Foam Coffee Cups (National Geographic News, Aug. 17)

Did asteroids flock together to build planets? (New Scientist, Aug. 17)

Stars put up for adoption to fund exoplanet research (New Scientist, Aug. 17)

US probe captures Saturn equinox (BBC News, Aug. 16)

Mystery storm clouds on Saturn's largest moon appear (L.A. Times, Aug. 15)

NASA Budget Too Slim to Reach Moon by 2020, Panel Says (Space.com, Aug. 13)

Lectures, Meetings, & Conferences

Sources:

Conference Calendar for Zoology (BIOSIS)

Meridian International Center Events

National Academy of Sciences Events

National Air and Space Museum Events

National Journal Daybook [includes environment-related events in Washington]

National Museum of Natural History Events

National Press Club

Smithsonian Resident Associate Programs